According to one member of The New York Times’ increasingly radical editorial board, Sen. Ted Cruz isn’t allowed to post facts on social media about legendary abolitionist and statesman Frederick Douglas.
According to the Times’ Mara Gay, the senator isn’t allowed to say or write anything about Douglas. Why? Given the paper’s obsession with race, it could very well be because Cruz boasts a white complexion, though to be clear, he’s of Hispanic ancestry.
The feud between Cruz and Gay began on the Fourth of July after disgraced former NFL star Colin Kaepernick used a Douglas quote taken out of context to bash America.
“What have I, or those I represent, to do with your national independence? This Fourth of July is yours, not mine…There is not a nation on the earth guilty of practices more shocking and bloody than are the people of these United States at this very hour.”
– Frederick Douglass pic.twitter.com/IWLujGCJHn— Colin Kaepernick (@Kaepernick7) July 4, 2019
Later that evening Cruz clapped back in a lengthy tweet thread by pointing out that the quote had been taken out of context and then explaining the context that Kaepernick had purposefully chosen to ignore. But for reasons that still remain clear, this history lesson angered Gay.
“Frederick Douglass is an American hero, and his name has no business in your mouth,” she rudely wrote in a tweet reply she posted Friday morning.
Look at the senator’s tweets and Gay’s response below:
You quote a mighty and historic speech by the great abolitionist Frederick Douglass, but, without context, many modern readers will misunderstand. Two critical points: https://t.co/x4oLfa9DrH
— Ted Cruz (@tedcruz) July 5, 2019
(1) This speech was given in 1852, before the Civil War, when the abomination of slavery still existed. Thanks to Douglass and so many other heroes, we ended that grotesque evil and have made enormous strides to protecting the civil rights of everybody.
— Ted Cruz (@tedcruz) July 5, 2019
(2) Douglass was not anti-American; he was, rightly and passionately, anti-slavery. Indeed, he concluded the speech as follows:
— Ted Cruz (@tedcruz) July 5, 2019
“Allow me to say, in conclusion, notwithstanding the dark picture I have this day presented, of the state of the nation, I do not despair of this country.
— Ted Cruz (@tedcruz) July 5, 2019
“There are forces in operation, which must inevitably, work the downfall of slavery. ‘The arm of the Lord is not shortened,’ and the doom of slavery is certain.
— Ted Cruz (@tedcruz) July 5, 2019
“I, therefore, leave off where I began, with hope. While drawing encouragement from ‘the Declaration of Independence,’ the great principles it contains, and the genius of American Institutions, my spirit is also cheered by the obvious tendencies of the age.”
— Ted Cruz (@tedcruz) July 5, 2019
Let me encourage everyone, READ THE ENTIRE SPEECH; it is powerful, inspirational, and historically important in bending the arc of history towards justice: https://t.co/il9WNrmxho
— Ted Cruz (@tedcruz) July 5, 2019
Frederick Douglass is an American hero, and his name has no business in your mouth. https://t.co/Ghoqb75gJF
— Mara Gay (@MaraGay) July 5, 2019
Note that what the Texas senator posted were clearly facts — cold, hard, raw facts devoid of any partisanship. Note also that Gay’s snide response contained no “facts or reason,” as Cruz noted in a follow-up tweet.
“Let’s see. You’re on the editorial board of the NYT. You respond to any view you don’t like, not with facts or reason, but w/ ad hominem attack. And you seem dismayed that I linked to Douglass’s entire speech, so readers can judge for themselves. You represent your employer well,” he wrote sarcastically.
As of Saturday morning, Cruz’s follow-up tweet boasted nearly 45,000 likes, whereas Gay’s snide tweet boasted only slightly over 3,500. Nuff said …
Let’s see. You’re on the editorial board of the NYT. You respond to any view you don’t like, not with facts or reason, but w/ ad hominem attack. And you seem dismayed that I linked to Douglass’s entire speech, so readers can judge for themselves. You represent your employer well. https://t.co/c8168yiCgY
— Ted Cruz (@tedcruz) July 5, 2019
Both Cruz’s follow-up tweet and Gay’s original tweet also contained a slew of critical responses, the vast majority of them aimed at the Times’ writer, not the Texas senator.
Look:
Discourse dies in the dark…and at the NYT.
— Ashley S. (@dwellerunderash) July 5, 2019
This is why Americans can no longer trust the media. They claim to be impartial and unbiased even when their actions show they are not. They reject God given rights and equality before the law and then have the gall to be angry with someone when they point out their hypocrisy.
— jcope (@jtcope4) July 5, 2019
All Americans should boycott the New York Times. Mara has made it clearly obvious they report the news to fit their political agenda. If they dont fire her, the NYT is clearly saying they agree with this type of reporting.
— Scott cone (@Scottcone5) July 6, 2019
Nice to see the NYT editorial board with such a strong stand on who is and is not allowed to speak. Very on brand.
— InExemplum (@inexemplum) July 5, 2019
He was a Republican, and @SenTedCruz is correct to educate @Kaepernick7 about the full context of the quote he was attempting to misconstrue. The @nytimes editorial board needs raise its standards.
— ??#IAmTheNRA Rosenblum (@StevenRosenblum) July 5, 2019
This is what happens when you hire too many “woke”, aggrieved millennials at legacy journalism institutions who don’t do research & think advocacy is journalism. FYI, @tedcruz is quoting Douglass (a Republican) FULLY:https://t.co/cBDBS3S1AI
— Michael (@Michael2014abc) July 5, 2019
In fairness to Gay, she did issue an apology of sorts late Friday evening.
“You’re right,” she wrote in a reply to Cruz’s follow-up tweet. “Everyone should read these remarks in their entirety. I was offended because I felt Douglass’ powerful words were being used to diminish an American who has tried to make the country fairer for all. In that spirit, peace and Happy Independence Day weekend to you.”
That was decent and praiseworthy. Far too many partisans on both the left and the right have a tendency to double, triple and quadruple down on their errors, versus conceding that they’d made a mistake.
You’re right. Everyone should read these remarks in their entirety. I was offended because I felt Douglass’ powerful words were being used to diminish an American who has tried to make the country fairer for all. In that spirit, peace and Happy Independence Day weekend to you.
— Mara Gay (@MaraGay) July 5, 2019
That she was willing to say “[y]ou’re right” tells the American people a lot of about her character. Kudos to her for the humility. And kudos to Sen. Cruz as well for having the temerity to challenge false narratives.
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V. Saxena is a staff writer for BizPac Review with a decade of experience as a professional writer, and a lifetime of experience as an avid news junkie. He holds a degree in computer technology from Purdue University.
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